Ted Cruz Gets Booed Off Stage At Middle East Christian Event

[Karee 4,189]

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) was booed off the stage at an event hosted by a Christian organization in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday night.

The conservative firebrand delivered the keynote address at an event hosted by In Defense of Christians, an organization that raises awareness of persecuted Christian and minority communities in the Middle East. But the audience turned hostile when Cruz said, "Christians have no greater ally than Israel."

"I will say this: I'm saddened to see that some here, not everyone, are so consumed with hate," he said, as more members in attendance began to boo. "I will say this: If you will not stand with Israel and the Jews, then I will not stand with you. Thank you, and God bless you," he said, before walking off the stage.

According to The Daily Caller, IDC Executive Director Andrew Doran then came on the stage and said, "For the love of God, we're here to talk about Christians and we're here to be united."

In a statement issued after the event, the IDC blamed a "few politically motivated opportunists" for the incident.

The Assyrian International News Agency interviewed several attendees, most of whom said they were present "to discuss the plight of the Christians in Iraq, not the Israel-Hamas conflict, and they resented the senator's attempt to 'hijack' the summit," the agency reports.

In a statement following the incident, Cruz said the event "unfortunately deteriorated into a shameful display of bigotry and hatred."

"I came to this event tonight to help shine a light on the tragic persecution and slaughter of Christians by ISIS and Islamic radicals throughout the Middle East. American leaders have been far too silent as to this horrific evil," he said. "But bigotry and hatred have no place in this discussion. Anti-Semitism is a corrosive evil, and it reared its ugly head tonight. After just a few minutes, I had no choice. I told them that if you will not stand with Israel, if you will not stand with the Jews, then I will not stand with you. And then I walked off the stage."

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/09/11/ted-cruz-booed_n_5803908.html

[Dan and Judy 614]

serious question: does the US get any benefit out of being allied with Israel?

[Novembro 1,763]

This was the top story trending on my fb this morning. Made me so happy. His comments about you "being against America if you're against Israel" are just laughable.

[Karee 4,189]

serious question: does the US get any benefit out of being allied with Israel?

I'm sure there's benefits although I can't think of one at the moment. I actually thought about it for 5 minutes. I can see plenty of negatives foreign policy wise. It's kind of hard for the U.S. to have any foreign policy credibility when we unconditionally support such an efficient civilian killing machine, both financially and militarily. I think more and more people are getting wise to what it's all about, as the video above shows.

[Expat1 971]

I believe that people are coming to realize that though we have been great friends and allies to Israel it is difficult to see how they are or have been either friends or allies to us.

[Dan and Judy 614]

If we ever got into a war in the middle east they would be fighting by our side.

[Expat1 971]

Israeli love of Christians, from a Christian in Israel.

Perhaps being denied equal protection under the law as Christians might be a critical clue as to why Cruz was boo'd off the stage. When Christmas trees are allowed in Israel with the same cheerful support that Jewish symbols of worship are allowed in America - we can maybe consider Israel as worthy friends and allies. I wonder what Dr King would say about laws denying housing on the basis of "social unsuitability"?

http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Op-Ed-Contributors/Debunking-Israels-imagined-Christian-awakening-340243

As part of this community, I can tell you that Palestinian Christians in Israel are aware of their belonging to the Palestinian people in every aspect of their lives. They live and function within a state that is defined for others, since it is by definition a Jewish state, and policymakers are wholly focused on serving those others. The voices reported in these articles, then, are discordant with this reality, sounding like a cacophony prompted by the Israeli government.

Israel is defined as a Jewish state, which means Jews have exclusive and special rights that are not given to non-Jews. These rights include promotion of Zionist values and history, the disproportionate and beneficial allocation of resources, and other institutional privileges that have direct impact on social structures including immigration, land rights and education.

Palestinian citizens of Israel are treated as second-class citizens and lack a sense of belonging. They acutely feel a need for protection at all times within the State of Israel, whether they are Christians or not.

Over the years some cabinet ministers and political groups explicitly advocated the transfer of Palestinians citizens and even population swaps in order to maintain Israel’s Jewish majority.

Discriminatory laws and initiatives are passed to prevent Palestinians from connecting to our history, culture and religion. The ‘Nakba law’ prohits state funding to organizations that commemorate our dispossession in 1947-1949. There is also discrimination in approximately 700 agricultural and community towns in Israel on the basis of “social unsuitability,” preventing Christian and Muslim Palestinians from living among the Jewish populations.

These discriminatory practices extend to everyday routines. At this time of year, it is not permitted to display a Christmas tree in the Israeli Knesset, reportedly because such an act would be considered “offensive.” Legal action has even been taken to allow the display of Christmas trees in some public places, such as Haifa University.

Thousands of Palestinians, Christian and Muslim alike, are struggling daily against discrimination and are determined to seek unconditional full rights for all Israeli citizens.

Edited September 12, 2014 by Expat1

[OriZ 3,157]

I have already proven numerous times that Expat likes to take things out of context, lie, and uses the three D's quite often...Distract, Divert and Distort...My wife is Christian and spent 4 years with me in Israel, you can ask her where is the one place in the middle east she would live in.

Anyway, what are the benefits to the US being allied with Israel? Well, there are actually plenty, it would take me all day to list all of it but here's some:

Israel continues to help the United States deal with traditional security threats. The two countries share intelligence on terrorism, nuclear proliferation, and Middle Eastern politics. Israel’s military experiences have shaped the United States’ approach to counterterrorism and homeland security. The two governments work together to develop sophisticated military technology, such as the David’s Sling counter-rocket and Arrow missile defense systems, which may soon be ready for export to other U.S. allies. Israel has also emerged as an important niche defense supplier to the U.S. military, with sales growing from $300 million per year before September 11 to $1.1 billion in 2006, due to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Israel’s military research and development complex has pioneered many cutting-edge technologies that are transforming the face of modern war, including cyberweapons, unmanned vehicles (such as land robots and aerial drones), sensors and electronic warfare systems, and advanced defenses for military vehicles.

The U.S.-Israeli alliance has paved the way for the countries to cooperate on far more than just traditional security issues. In part because of the long-standing political and security relationship between the United States and Israel, most Israelis know the United States and harbor positive feelings toward it. Israeli companies looking for a global market for their products have often viewed their American counterparts as partners of choice. So today, Israeli civilian technological innovations are helping the United States maintain its economic competitiveness, promote sustainable development, and address a range of non-military security challenges.

Dozens of leading U.S. companies have set up technology incubators in Israel to take advantage of the country’s penchant for new ideas, which is why Bill Gates observed in 2006 that the “innovation going on in Israel is critical to the future of the technology business.” Likewise, Israeli high-tech firms often turn to U.S. companies as partners for joint production and marketing opportunities in the United States and elsewhere, creating tens of thousands of American jobs. And although Israelis make up just three percent of the population of the Middle East, in 2011 Israel was the destination of 25 percent of all U.S. exports to the region, having recently eclipsed Saudi Arabia as the top market there for American products.

U.S. companies’ substantial cooperation with Israel on information technology has been crucial to Silicon Valley’s success. At Intel’s research and development centers in Israel, engineers have designed many of the company’s most successful microprocessors, accounting for some 40 percent of the firm’s revenues last year. If you’ve made a secure financial transaction on the Internet, sent an instant message, or bought something using PayPal, you can thank Israeli IT researchers.

Israeli innovators have also come up with novel solutions to the water and food security challenges posed by population growth, climate change, and economic development. By necessity, given the geography of the Middle East, Israel is a world leader in water conservation and management and high-tech agriculture. Israel recycles more than eighty percent of its wastewater -- the highest level in the world -- and has pioneered widely used techniques of conserving or purifying water, including drip irrigation and reverse osmosis desalination. And a number of Israeli companies are leaders in the development of renewable energy sources; BrightSource Industries, for example, is building a solar power plant in California using Israeli technology that will double the amount of solar thermal electricity produced in America. These innovations, bolstered by the substantial American investment in Israel, contribute to long-term U.S. domestic and foreign policy objectives relating to sustainable development.

To avoid a wall of text, that was just a tiny part of this article: http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/138422/michael-eisenstadt-and-david-pollock/friends-with-benefits

You can also fine more info here http://www.neontommy.com/news/2011/02/us-israel-relationship-benefits-americans

here http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/view/asset-test-how-the-united-states-benefits-from-its-alliance-with-israel

And despite who else but Expat's claims that Israel assists Isis, Israel is actually helping combat them:

Israel has provided satellite imagery and other intelligence in support of the US-led aerial campaign against Islamic State in Iraq, a Western diplomat said on Monday.

Once "scrubbed" of evidence of its Israeli origin, the information has often been shared by Washington with Arab and Turkish allies, the diplomat said.

Israel's Defense Ministry neither confirmed nor denied involvement in any international efforts against the militant group.

"We don't comment on any assistance by us, or if there is such assistance, in the fight against ISIS," said Yaacov Havakook, spokesman for the ministry, using one of Islamic State's former names.

The spread of Islamic State in Syria and Iraq, the insurgent group's foreign volunteer contingent and the execution of two US journalists have jolted Western powers into military intervention.

SATELLITES AND DATABASES

The Western diplomat said Israeli spy satellites, overflying Iraq at angles and frequencies unavailable from US satellites, had provided images that allowed the Pentagon to "fill out its information and get a better battle damage assessments" after strikes on Islamic State targets.

Israel had also shared information gleaned from international travel databases about Western citizens suspected of joining the insurgents, who could be potential recruits for future attacks in their native countries.

"The Israelis are very good with passenger data and with analyzing social media in Arabic to get a better idea of who these people are," the diplomat said on condition of anonymity.

Underscoring Israel's backstage role, it is not among countries being visited by US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel this week as he builds the anti-Islamic State coalition.

But the Israeli-supplied intelligence would reach the US partner "with the Hebrew and other markings scrubbed out" to avoid raising hackles among Arabs, Turks and perhaps even the Iranian forces who also view Islamic State as a foe, the diplomat said.

http://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Israel-provides-satellite-imagery-other-intelligence-for-US-led-campaign-against-ISIS-374790

Edited September 12, 2014 by OriZ

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

you do realize that nobody actually reads your copied and pasted walls of text, yes?

[OriZ 3,157]

you do realize that nobody actually reads your copied and pasted walls of text, yes?

That's their own problem then. I post it just in case they decide to be smart and read it. If they don't then that makes everything they write here null and void being they write it out of ignorance due to the fact they ignore the facts presented right in front of their face. So either way I win. Deal with it.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

excessive reading of propaganda materials does not make one smart

[lostinblue 1,989]

excessive reading of propaganda materials does not make one smart

As you have proven ... Time to post another onion article ???

[Karee 4,189]

If we ever got into a war in the middle east they would be fighting by our side.

Where were they in Iraq? Both times for that matter.

[decocker 7,198]

sounds like ted cruz has a parrot.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

As you have proven ... Time to post another onion article ???

I can't prove that since I don't consume propaganda material. The Onion is not propaganda, it's satire. You'd know the difference if you hadn't gotten lost in the right wing echo chamber.